Assassin’s Creed Shadows finally takes series to Japan

Charles says this allows the team to implement two gameplay styles. With Naoe, players are encouraged to take a more stealthy approach, similar to games like Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, while Yasuke’s more combat-focused style is reminiscent of Viking-inspired Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.

The game’s trailer created a lot of excitement for Shadows – and developer Ubisoft will be hoping for a hit after sales of its earlier 2024 release Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, were reportedly muted.

Its other big release, the pirate-themed Skull & Bones – which started life as an Assassin’s Creed spin-off – was met with generally low review scores.

Shadow’s trailer also generated backlash from some gamers, who criticised the choice of Yasuke as a main character over a native Japanese protagonist.

Opponents have accused those critics of being racist, and have pointed out that Yasuke is based on a real-life person.

Charles, speaking to Newsbeat before the trailer dropped, says the developers “put a lot of emphasis on authenticity and making sure we depict Japan and the culture right”.

“So when we started the project, we had a historian with us from day one,” he says.

He says the team also consulted weapons experts and travelled to Japan to get a feel for the landscape and locations in the game.